Many people use pen and paper instead of a computer to write short texts, especially notes from telephone conversations and meetings. The reason may be, for example, that no computer is available, that the person does not have both hands free to efficiently input text via a keyboard, that the person cannot quickly and easily combine text and sketches into expressive messages by means of a computer, or that it takes long to start the proper program in the computer. Even if the notes are written on a sheet of paper, it is in many cases desirable to input selected parts thereof into a computer, for instance a note about a meeting into a digital calendar or address information into a digital address book.
In order to increase the possibilities of using pen and paper in digital contexts, use of different types of digital pens has been suggested, which during the writing of information are capable of recording their movement across a passive base, such as a sheet of paper.
Such a digital pen, developed by the present Applicant, is based on detection of a position code on the base. When put down on the base, the pen is made to continually detect the position code locally at the pen point. This results in a sequence of positions which together constitute a digital description of the movement of the pen across the base during the writing of information.
Such a position-coded product can have embedded functionality by different positions on the product being dedicated to different functions or events. For instance, the product can have a functional area for recording of handwriting, a functional area for character interpretation of the noted information, a functional area which in the digital pen initiates transmission of all the information noted on the product, etc.
Furthermore the position code may be capable of coding a very large number of absolute positions, which make up an imaginary surface which is much larger than an individual base. The present Applicant has in Publications WO 01/48591, WO 01/48685 and WO 01/48678, which are herewith incorporated by reference, described information management systems which are based on the principle that different positions on this imaginary surface are dedicated to different functions and/or operators. Such an information management system may contain a plurality of digital pens, a multiplicity of position-coded products and a plurality of processing units communicating with the digital pens. In the system, the information is automatically directed to a certain processing unit based on its position contents. Each processing unit is in turn dedicated to processing the received information based on its position contents.
To allow different operators to develop services in the above information management systems, the present Applicant has also demonstrated a computer-based development tool, which is described in the brochure “Application Development Kit—Develop your applications enabling Anoto functionality”, dated 3 Aug. 2001.
The development tool comprises a graphical design tool in the form of a plug-in to existing graphical programs such as Quark XPress. Thus, a designer is allowed to create graphics (text, frames, images, etc.) for a product and connect this graphics to the above-mentioned position code. The graphical design tool creates what is called a PAD file, which specifies the connection between the position code and the functional areas on the product.
The development tool also comprises a software development program which allows a programmer to call low-level instructions for communication with the digital pens and, thus, build server software which in the processing unit reads data from digital pens and implements a certain service based on this data. In the development of the server software, use is made of the above PAD file to translate received positions into functional areas, which in turn are connected to given operations on associated position data.
The above development tool, which is described in more detail in Patent Application PCT/SE01/1842, which however has not been published at the filing of the present application, is above all intended for development of high volume products, typically printed matter in the form of magazines, brochures, notepads, calendars, reminder notes (Post-It®), books, mouse pads, maps etc.
Usually four different parties cooperate in development of such a high volume product and in activation of the same in the information management system: a service provider who performs the service on the processing unit, a graphic designer who develops the product for the service provider, a software developer which develops the server software for the processing unit of the service provider, and a printing office that produces the product based on material from the graphic designer. It will be appreciated that the development work is relatively time-consuming and complex, necessitating coordination of the work of the parties. In some cases, iterations between different parties may also be required, for instance between the graphic designer and the software developer.
A development process as stated above can in some cases appear too expensive and time-consuming, above all when producing products of a more small-scale, short-lived and/or simpler type, such as forms, blanks, circulars etc. There is thus a need also for a simpler technique for producing products with embedded functionality as stated above.
An equivalent need may also be found in other types of information management systems, for instance those described in WO 99/50787, U.S. Pat. No. 6,208,771 and WO 01/61449. Also these systems comprise digital user units which are adapted to read a data set on a product with embedded functionality, and a processing unit which is adapted to receive the data set and implement an event associated therewith.
Prior art also includes WO 01/75779, which describes a technique for generating forms by applying graphics to a substrate preprinted with a position code.